In playing
Washington State, a team that had run for just 349 yards in all of 2012, Auburn
knew it wasn't going to be challenged much on the ground in its season-opener.

That should
change this Saturday, as the Tigers welcome Gus Malzahn's old team, Arkansas
State, to Jordan-Hare. With former Texas offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin now
leading the Red Wolves, they ran for 509 yards in a 62-11 victory over
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with four players breaking the 100-yard mark.

Arkansas-Pine
Bluff will never be confused with a defensive juggernaut. Even so, those are
numbers that are sure to get the attention of Ellis Johnson and the Tigers'
defense.

David Oku
ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. Sirgregory Thornton added
112 yards and two scores on nine attempts. Michael Gordon chipped in 102 yards
and a touchdown on four carries and backup quarterback Fredi Knighten got into
the act with 101 yards and two scores on three carries.

Oku is the featured
back of the group. The 5-foot-10, 202-pound senior originally signed with
Tennessee in the same class as Bryce Brown, setting single-season school
records for kickoff returns (33) and kickoff return yards (863) as a freshman
in 2009. But with Vols head coach Lane Kiffin having left for Southern Cal, Oku
transferred after his sophomore year and made an immediate impact when he got
onto the field at Arkansas State last season, rushing for 1,061 yards and 16
touchdowns to earn first-team All-Sun Belt honors.

"David has
experience, last year being a 1,000-yard rusher," Harsin said. "I don't think
he gets overly anxious going into games. I think he's got a pretty good head on
his shoulders as far as his demeanor out there. David is a guy who's got very
good vision. ... We wanted him to be a downhill back and start there first and he
did that in the game. He hit the holes, he got vertical and then when he got in
the open field, that's part of his deal - to make guys miss, and he was able to
do that.

"We've just
got to continue that trend he started in the first game, keep the downhill
mentality and then once you get in the open field, do your deal.

Far from a
one-horse stable, the Red Wolves have depth and balance in their backfield. Gordon,
a 5-9, 187-pound sophomore from Camden, Miss., is the speed back, while the
5-11, 215-pound Thornton, a senior from Memphis, is the power back.

"Both those
guys did a great job when they got in," Harsin said. "Michael's a guy that's
got speed to break away and pull away and he showed that. He's just getting
better. He's a younger guy, so the more opportunities he gets the better he'll
get. Sirgy ... that's his job is to get in there and get himself downhill, be a
physical back and be a guy who can go in there and get us first downs in short
yardage situations. He showed some power in the game as far as pulling through
some tackles.

"We're going
to need all three of those as we go through the season because they're going to
be guys who carry a lot of load for us. We're going to need all of them to do
that."

Toss in the
dynamic Knighten, a 5-11, 189-pound sophomore from Little Rock, and the Red
Wolves have yet another weapon at their disposal out of the Wildcat in the run
game.

"Fredi's a
winner," said Malzahn, who recruited Knighten to Arkansas State before leaving
for the Plains. "He's a playmaker. He can do a lot of different things. He's
got very good speed. He's a tough guy. He's used to winning."